Digital Desk Staff
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan have raised questions about the pace of the State’s Covid-19 vaccination rollout during the weekly Cabinet meeting.
Mr Varadkar, sources said, asked why some doses of the Moderna vaccine were being held in stock when the stated plan was to distribute them as soon as they arrived.
As The Irish Times reports, Mr Ryan asked why it would take three weeks to vaccinate people aged over 85, the process of doing which began this week, and if this could be sped up.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly is said to have expressed confidence that around 1.2 million vaccine doses would be available in this quarter and up to 4.5 million doses in the next.
The Cabinet is to meet again later to discuss mandatory quarantine at designated hotels for people arriving from some countries, with officials attempting to iron out the detail of the plan. Two sources said a further meeting of Ministers would be needed as a final draft of the legislation was not ready this morning.
Advanced reservations
Under the plans being discussed, people arriving into the State would be told to reserve and pay for their hotel quarantine in advance of arrival.
It is understood that Mr Donnelly said an implementation group was examining how to handle instances when people arrive into the State without having arranged their quarantine in advance.
The group is also expected to be tasked with establishing options for a system to handle advanced reservations, with a focus on private providers.
The preference is thought to be for an operator that can provide transportation as well as hotel accommodation.
While there will be private security at the designated facilities, the Cabinet was also told the security providers would have no enforcement powers meaning gardaí would have to come if there non-compliance issues.
Gardaí will be notified if someone leaves a centre without permission, and non-compliant people can be detained before being returned to the hotel.
People will receive a “letter of completion” on finishing their quarantine period as proof it has been completed.
